changed

​Day 9 
We are sitting in the St Louis airport waiting to catch our flight home. Charging our phones and just waiting a couple hours.

Soon we found our group (no kidding) .. a bunch of people from the tour .. and we visited while we waited. Now we just boarded the tiny plane. SLC here we come. 

What I am wondering and would like to discuss is how this church history tour changed me. The evidence is the same; the details have not changed. But my witness of the restoration of the gospel in our day and the essential role of Joseph Smith is strong and secure.

I have many new friends that feel similarly, and new witnesses have come to my attention and increased my understanding. Confidence in the gospel of Jesus Christ is not founded based on empirical evidence, but new understanding and an increase in detail helps strengthen and indemnify ones testimony of truth. I know this sounds surreal. How can a 10-day trip change one's witness of Christ? That's actually an easy question to answer, which I will do with a parable of sorts...

Writing music starts with notes and lyrics. We all have our preferences, but the strategy followed is essentially the same:
Chords are the fundamental measure. To that we add new notes and melody. 
Harmony comes next and the measures include percussion, accord, and rhythm. Rhythm is not the end, and not just the beginning--yet it is essential to make the melody progress and the song complete. And that is not so different from a witness of truth. One's testimony starts small and includes faith. As elements are added to an already blooming witness, the commitment takes shape and becomes further validation of what is known to be true.

Such is the case with the events of Church history. This tour further emboldened and heightened my knowledge.
​My testimony is now further increased with a full range of notes and harmony.

Opportunity of  a lifetime.